Georgian, Turkish and Azerbaijani FMs Discuss Mutual Cooperation
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, November 1
Georgia’s David Zalkaliani, along with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Maharram Oglu Mammadyarov had a trilateral meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.
The sides discussed various economic issues, including energy projects, also recent developments in the region and ways of solving the existing conflicts in compliance with the norms and principles of international law.
The Georgian Foreign Minister spoke about the Georgian government’s peace policy and the importance of the international community’s support for Georgian side’s initiatives in this regard.
He also noted that Georgia is interested in strengthening peace, stability and security in the region, as well as in developing cooperation with Azerbaijan and Turkey in the areas of economy, transport, energy, tourism, culture and other areas.
“We attach great importance to the implementation of the common energy and transport projects. Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are located at the energy and transport crossroads, and these countries play a key role in supplying hydrocarbons from the Caspian Sea to the European market,” he stated.
Moreover, Zalkaliani spoke about the implemented Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum energy projects.
“We are prepared to renew our strong and consolidated efforts for the implementation of the South Corridor and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Projects, which create a very competitive route providing connection between Europe and Asia,” he said at the joint press-conference, held after the meeting.
According to the minister, Georgia, due to its strategic location between Europe and Asia continues to serve as a link between the historical civilizations. In this context, he highlighted the Georgian Prime Minister’s initiative on the conduction of Tbilisi Forum.
“Let me draw your attention to Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze’s important initiative on the launch of the Tbilisi Forum which is aimed to transform the Black Sea Region and the Caucasus from the zone of confrontation into the area of peace, co-operation and development,” he added.
Zalkaliani underlined that Azerbaijan and Turkey are Georgia’s trusted partners and allies and expressed confident that joint efforts will contribute to the improvement of strategic partnership.
Before the trilateral meeting, Zalkaliani had meetings with his counterparts and also took part in the opening ceremony of the new Istanbul airport.
